Attachment for rocking-chairs



J. B. BOYLE.

AITACHIVIENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS.

APPLICATION FILED A.UG.16| 1911- v 1,345,745. memewuly 5, 19m,

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

I. B. BOYLE.

ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I6, 1.917-

Patented July 6,, WW

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

JOHN "B. BOYLE, U33 CRQEZE'I, VIRGINIA.

ATTACHMENT FUR ROCKING-GHAIRS.

iipecification of Letters latent.

Application filed August 16, 1917. Serial No. 186,577.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. BOYLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Crozet, in the county of filben'iarle and titate of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attaclnnents for Rocking- Uhairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for rocking chairs and is designed as an im' provemeiiit upon the attachment shown in my Patent No. 1,233,747, issued July 17, 1917.

The attachment is of that class designed, when applied to a rocking chair, to enable the occupant of the chair to rock more comfortably and with less expenditure of energy than required in the use of an ordinary chair without such an attachment. in the use of the ordinary rocking chair, unless the same is built very low, the feet will. be out of contact with the floor in the backward rocking movement and considerable energy must be expended in imparting such movement to the chair. Furthermore, the tendency in rocking backwardly is to exert force in a downward and forward direction upon the floor, which is liable to cause the chair to creep or walk backwardly. Therefore, as in my former invention, the object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for a rocking chair embodying a wheel supported foot rest from which the feet need not be removed in the act of rocking.

in the patented structure, the attachment was connectedfor swinging movement with the forward portion of the chair and when not in use was capable oiif' being swung up; wardly to rest upon the arms of the chair so that thefldevice would then Ofll'llpy less s mcehoth about the house and when packed for shipment. However, in the patented structure the rocking chair could not be employed except by, at the same time,malring' use of the attachment or having the attachment extend idly in front of the chair. inasmuch as under crowded conditions it mi ght be found preferable to make use of the chair without the attachment, it is an aim of the present invention to so construct and ar-i chair, the chair may be arranged for shipment in a condition occupying no more space than it would if the attachment were not present. That is to say, by providing for disposal of the attachment beneath a? seat of the chair, two chairs may be stacked one upon the other by inverting one chair and disposing its arms upon the arms of the other chair, as is the usual way of arranging such chairs for the purpose of shipment.

rti'iother aim of the invention is to provide novel means for holding the attachment in elevated position beneath the seat of the chair so that the wheels of the attachment will clear the floor surface in all rocking positions of the chair, the holding means bein g, furthermore, so constructed that it may be actuated to relez se the attachment witliout the necessity of stooping.

in the accompanying drawings:

Figure is a perspective view of the device embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical front to rear sectional view therethrough illustrating the attachment 1n inactive position;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation also illustrating the attachment in inactive position;

181g. .l is a detail side elevation of the latch device for holding the attachment in inactive position;

Fig. is a vertical transverse sectional view through the wheel supported foot rest of the attachment.

Tn the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates in general a rocking chair which may be of the ordi nary construction and which includes the usual seat 2, back and rockers 4L.

The attachment embodying the present invention includes a rod which is mounted preferably beneath the forward portion of the seat 2', as, for example, by having its ends fitted through the forward legs of the chair frame, and pivotally connected with the rod :3, near the ends thereof, are side bars 6 which are curved to extend downwardly and forwardly. The forward end portions of the side bars are flattened and are secured, as at 7, to the underside of the foot rest of the attachment which foot rest is indicated by the numeral 8.

The foot rest may be of any suitable construction, but is here illustrated as in the nature of a foot board provided in its upper surface with a longitudinally extending groove 9 inwhich is seated an axle 10 having its ends projecting through suitable lPatented ma e, rose...

bearing plates 11 secured upon the ends of the foot board 8. heels, preferably rubber tired, and indicated by the numeral 12, are rotatably mounted upon the ends of the shaft 10 and serve to support the foot board 8 for movement over the floor surface and spaced thereabove. By curving the side bars 6, in the manner stated, the bars will not offer any material obstruction to one using the chair, either While seated therein or while becoming seated or leaving the chair. In order to hold this portion of the attachment properly centered with relation to the chair, it is preferable that the rod 5 have fitted thereon sleeves 13 and 14. The sleeves 14 are relatively short and extend between the pivoted ends of the side bars 6 and the adacent forward legs of the chair frame, and the sleeve 13 extends between the said ends of the two side bars. In this manner not only are the pivoted ends of the side bars equi-distantly spaced at all times with relation to the sides of the chair frame but also the said ends are held against relative dis placement. The sleeves 13 and 14: are pref erably of rubber, although they may be of any other suitable material. From the fore going description of this portion of the attachment it will be understood that one seated inthe chair may place his or her feet upon the footboard 8 and by moving the footboard backward and forward may rock with comfort and without expenditure of any considerable energy.

In order that the attachment may be supported in position beneath the seat of the chair, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8 of the drawings, there is provided a latch device which will now be described. The numeral 15 indica a bracket which is secured preferably to the under side of the seat 2 of the chair at the rear thereof and which projects downwardl from the said seat. The bracket has a downwardly extending arm 16, the lower end of which is rolled to form a pintle eye 1'7. The latch proper comprises a plate 18 provided at a point between its ends with pintle ears 1%) between which the pintle eye 1'7 is received in the manner shown in Fig. l, a pintle pin 20 being fitted through the said ears and eye so as to connect the latch plate with the arm 16 of the bracket. The upper portion of the plate 18, or in other words, that portion above the pivot for the plate, is curved to extend upwardly and rearwardly, as at 21, to provide an arm for the connection of an actuating means for the latch, which will be presently more specifically described. Below its pivot. the latch plate 18 is bent to extend abruptly forwardly to form a latch shoulder 22 and below this shoulder is curved downwardly and rearwardly, as at 23, to form a sloping surface over which may ride a latch tongue 24 secured upon the under side of the foot board 18 at the forward edge thereof, it being understood that the tongue 24 after riding over the curved forward face of the portion 23 of the latch plate is designed to seat and rest upon the shoulder 22. A leaf spring 25 is secured by means of bolts 26 and 27, at its upper end, to the bracket 15 and extends dowinvardly in front of the arm 16, the free end of the spring bein located in advance of the lower portion of the said arm. A stud. 28 projects forwardly from the latch plate .1 a short distance above the pivot therefor and works freely through an opening 29 in the arm us of the bracket and the forward end of this stud is provided with a rounded head 30 which serves to limit the rearward swinging movement of the upper portion of the latch plate and also as an element carried by the latch plate and acting against the spring 25 when the latch plate is moved through the actuating means or through the movement of the latch. tongue 24 over the portion 23 of the said latch plate. It will now be understood that movement of the latch is against the tension of the spring 25, inasmuch as when the latch is actuated through the manually operable actuating means provided therefor or when the latch tongue 21; is riding over the portion 23 of the latch, the stud 28 will be projected forwardly with its head 30 forcing the spring 25 for ardly away from the arm 16 of the bracket. Thus the spring normally holds the latch in position for the engagement therewith of the latch tongue 2st and also the said spring serves to move the latch to position to support the latch tongue 2% after the said tongue has passed the portion 23 of the latch. By reference to Fig. a it will be observed that that portion of the spring 25 through which the bolt 27 passes is spaced at short distance from the arm 10 so that by adjusting the nut 27 upon the said bolt the tension of the spring may be increased or diminished. T he manually operable actuating means for the latch heretofore referred to includes a rod 31, which is connected at its lower end to the upper and rear end of the arm 2L of the latch and which extends upwardly through a tube 32 which is mounted upon the rear side of the back of the chair in any suitable manner. The upper end of the rod 31. is provided with a finger piece 35 through the me dium of which a pull. may be exerted upon the rod 31 for the purpose of disengaging the latch from the latch tongue 24.

From the foregoing description of the invention it will be understood that when the attachment is not desired for use it is only necessary to tilt or rock the chair backwardly until the foot board and wheels 12 swing beneath the seat of the chair and the latch tongue 24 automatically engages the latch 18. The attachment will then occupy the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the :taiamie ployed, as in the case of an ordinary rocker,

or may be packed for shipment without interference on the part of the attachment.

l/Vhen it is desired to bring the attachment into position for use it is only necessary to tilt the rocker, as before stated, and then pull upon the finger piece 35. This will disen gage the latch from the latch tongue 24 and as the attachment swings downwardly and forwardly the chair is also rocked forwardly.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination with a rocking chair, of a foot rest connected with the forward portion. of the chair for swinging movement and supported for backward and forward travel, the foot rest being movable to position to extend forwardly beyond the chair and to position beneath the seat of the chair, enacting latch elements upon the foot rest and chair, means for yieldably holding the latch element upon the chair in position for mgagement by the latch element upon the foot rest, and means for disengaging the latch element upon the chair from the latch element upon the foot rest.

E4. The combination with a rocking chair, of a foot rest connected with the forward portion of the chair for swinging movement and supported for backward and forward travel, the foot rest being movable to position to extend forwardly beyond the chair and to position beneath the seat of the chair, coacting latch elements upon the foot rest and chair, means for yieldably holding the latch element upon the chair in position for ena ement by the latch element upon the foot 2: 1 rest, and means for disengaging the latch element upon the chair from the latch element upon the foot rest, the said means including a pull rod upon the back of the chair connected with the latch element upon the chair.

3. The combination with a rocking chair, of a foot restconneeted with the forward portion of the chair for swinging movement and supported for backward and forward travel, the footrest being movable to position to extend forwardly beyond the chair and to position beneath the seat of the chair, a latch element carried by the foot rest, a

support carried by the chair, a latch member pivotally mounted upon the said support, a spring upon the support, and an element carried by the latch member above its pivot and extending through the support and engaging the said spring whereby the latch member will be held yieldably in a predetermined position, the said latch member having means below its pivot for engagement by the latch element upon the foot rest.

l. The combination with a rocking chair, of a foot rest connected with the forward portion of the chair for swinging movement and supported for backward and forward travel, the foot rest being movable to position to extend forwardly beyond the chair and to position beneath the seat of the chair, a latch element upon the foot rest, a supporting member upon the chair having a portion provided with an opening, a latch member pivotally mounted upon the said portion of the support, a pin upon the latch member working through the opening in the said portion and provided at its end with a head arranged to engage the forward side of the said portion whereby to limit the pivotal movement of the latch member in one direction, a leaf spring upon the said portion bearing against the head upon the pin, and means upon the latch member for engagcment by the latch element upon the foot rest.

5. The combination with a rocking chair, of a foot rest connected with the forward portion of the chair for swinging movement and supported for backward and forward travel, the foot rest being movable to position to extend forwardly beyond the chair and to position beneath the seat of the chair, a tongue on the foot rest, a bracket secured to and depending from the seat of the chair and having an opening near its lower end, a latch pivoted intermediate its ends to the lower end of the bracket to be engaged by the tongue on the foot rest, a pin on the latch playing through the opening in the bracket and provided with a head to engage the bracket, a spring secured on the bracket and bearing upon said head, and a pull rod slidably mounted on the back of the chair and having its lower end attached to the upper end of the latch.

in testimony whereof T aiiix my signature.

JOHN B. norm. 1 s] 

